Etna erupts with a fury 'rarely seen for decades': Volcano continues its recent spectacular displays as image shows how its deadly rivers of lava look from space
- Europe's most active volcano erupted late on Monday and continued into the early hours of Tuesday morning
- A satellite image taken earlier in the week and released by the European Space Agency showed what Etna's deadly lava flows look like from space, streaking down the side of the towering 3,329m tall mountain
- Some said Monday's eruption was the most powerful during its recent burst of activity over the last week
- One volcanologist said that an eruption of its kind had not been seen for decades at Mount Etna
- Dramatic photos show the blast from Mount Etna lighting up the sky behind the nearby city of Catania
- No injuries or fatalities have been reported but a nearby airport was forced to close temporarily this weekMount Etna continued its spectacular eruptions on Monday into Tuesday with jets of lava reaching a thousand meters into the air.
The eruptions have awed even seasoned volcanologists in recent days with spurts of lava lighting up the Sicilian sky each night.
Some said Monday's eruption - that continued into the early hours of Tuesday - was the most powerful during its recent burst of activity, with one expert saying an eruption of its kind had not been seen for decades at Etna.The latest eruption overnight by Europe's most active volcano petered out on Tuesday morning, according to Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology.
It comes as a satellite image was released showing what its deadly rivers of lava look like from space.
Pictured: A handout satellite photo dated 18 February 2021 and made available by the European Space Agency showing lava flowing down the side of Mount Etna, which has been erupting over the last week
Some said Monday's eruption - that continued into the early hours of Tuesday - was the most powerful during its recent burst of activity, with one expert saying an eruption of its kind had not been seen for decades at Etna
For more than a week, Etna has been belching lava, ash and volcanic rocks on a regular basis.
Nearby Catania Airport closed temporarily, and residents of the town of Pedara said it appeared one day last week as if it were raining rocks as a thick blanket of ash covered the town.
Volcanologist Boris Behncke, of the national institute's Etna observation centre, has followed the latest eruptions with awe.
Pictured: Lava flows from the Mt Etna volcano, near Catania in Sicily, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 23 , 2021. The explosion started before midnight on Monday night, with lava visible running behind the domes of the city's Mother Church of Belpasso
The huge eruption plume (pictured) rose for several kilometers from the top of Etna, as reported by The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Etneo Observatory
Pictured: Lava flows from the Mt Etna volcano, near Catania in Sicily, southern Italy, early Tuesday, February 23. Etna is a popular tourist destination in Italy, attracting hikers and wine tasters to its slopes
Writing on the institute's website, he said that after 'gifting us moments of suspense' over the previous nights, Etna finally erupted in a way 'those of us who have worked in this for decades have rarely seen'.
Referring to the activity overnight, he tweeted on Tuesday: 'Did I call the 20-21 February paroxysm of Etna 'incredibly powerful'? Well, its successor, in the night of 22-23 February, was MUCH more powerful.'
So far there have been no reports of damage or injuries.Dramatic pictures show torrents of molten lava shooting into the air and running down the volcano during the most recent eruption overnight on Tuesday.
The blasts lit up the sky behind nearby Catania, with lava streams visible behind the domes of the city's Mother Church of Belpasso.
Etna is a popular tourist destination in Italy, attracting hikers and wine tasters to its slopes.
Dramatic pictures show torrents molten lava shooting into the air and running down the volcano during the most recent eruption overnight that began on Monday night, and continued into the early hours of Tuesday
Scientists have raised concerns that Etna (pictured on Tuesday morning) is slowly slipping into the Mediterranean Sea by as much as 14mm each year
Pictured: Mount Etna erupts in the night with lava fountains one kilometer high and a column of ash over 10 km high heading towards nearby Tyrrhenian on February 23, 2021 in Catania, Italy
At a towering 3,329m, it is the tallest active volcano in Europe and Italy's highest peak south of the Alps.
Previous eruptions have led to injuries, including in 2017 were 10 people, including a BBC news crew, were wounded.
Scientists have raised concerns that Etna is slowly slipping into the Mediterranean Sea by as much as 14mm each year.
This could result in part of the volcano collapsing into the water, risking debris entering the surrounding ocean and potentially devastating waves.
The 700,000-year-old volcano is also the second most active on Earth, after Hawaii's Mount Kilauea.
Monday's eruption was Etna's fifth in five days. It is Europe's most active volcano as well as the continent's tallest active volcano
Scientists say that during eruptions, lava at Mount Etna can get as hot as 1125°C (2057°F) and possibly even hotter. Pictured: Lava during Monday's eruption
Pictured: A huge plume of smoke and ash rises into the sky from Mount Etna late on Monday night, with the moon being obscured by the cloud. There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities due to the eruption but a nearby airport was forced to close temporarily
Situated between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, it generates nearly constant eruptions of varying degrees.
Each year it produces more than tens of million tons of lava and over 7 million tons of carbon dioxide, water and sulfur dioxide.
Its most severe recent eruption occurred in March of 2017, when nearly a dozen people were injured.
But eruptions have been recorded as far back as 1500 BC, with a devastating eruption in 1169 causing an earthquake that killed an estimated 15,000 people.
In 1992, lava streaming down its slope threatened Zafferana, a town of 7,000, in what's thought to be the most voluminous flank eruption in 300 years.
Soldiers used controlled explosions to divert the lava flow.
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